Piracy

No ship is safe. Every crew is vulnerable.

Across the seas, gangs run by organised crime syndicates, armed with machine guns, machetes, and even rocket-propelled grenades are holding the shipping industry to ransom.

Many ships and their cargoes have been stolen, but it is increasingly the case that seafarers themselves are the intended prey of pirates. Powerless to protect themselves, the crews are vulnerable, presenting easy pickings. They are held up at gunpoint, mugged, robbed of personal possessions and wages, then tortured, terrorised and held to ransom for enormous sums of money. For the seafarers who fall victim to such cruelty, the results are devastating. For their families, it’s terrifying.

Every day our chaplains in Mombasa and beyond report more harrowing stories of seafarers being terrorised by these merciless criminals. Please help us continue to be there for seafarers and their families. Help us provide friendship and a safe haven in every seafaring port around the world.

Behind the scenes we work with port authorities and ship owners to provide vital support during tense ransom negotiations, and we’re in communities across the world providing moral and practical support to the families of seafarers. We are also tirelessly campaigning at national government level and globally, including at the United Nations, for seafarers to be afforded universal protection and for decisive and swift action to be taken to thwart the efforts of the criminals determined to sabotage the shipping industry. Please give what you can to this appeal now.